Mackay caps late arrival

At 32, Malky Mackay is finally maturing into a Scotland defender and is set for the Premiership with Norwich City, writes Douglas Alexander

FOOTBALLERS are supposed to be on the downward slope in their 30s, but Malky Mackay may instead be approaching his prime at 32 after a long study in self-improvement has started to yield rewards. From the start of next season, he will be entitled to describe himself as a Scottish international who plays in the Premiership. Yet he knows improvement is still required or that description could soon hang on him like an ill-fitting suit. “The manager has already said we are going to have to be fitter, stronger, quicker, more aware in the Premiership,” he says.

The manager is Nigel Worthington and Mackay credits the Northern Irishman for pulling both the club and his career out of the First Division mid-table comfort zone into which they had fallen. A playoff final defeat on penalties by Birmingham two years ago was an early warning of Worthington’s promotion ambitions, which were